Content Syndication: RSS and Atom

Abstract

Content syndication is not something new—it has been around for many years but has never been as widely used as it is today. The term content syndication refers to publishing information on the Internet that can then be used by other sites as well as by stand-alone reader applications. The explosion of Web logs (commonly referred to as blogs) breathed new life into content syndication. Before, the syndicated content, known as feeds, was typically found on news sites only. Once blogs began proliferating on the Internet, content started being shared left and right, and users began using readers and aggregators to track their favorite blogs. Many people, mostly nontechnical ones, probably have never heard of the acronym RSS or probably do not understand the concept of content syndication yet unknowingly utilize it as they download MP3 files to their music players. In addition, those who subscribe to podcasts are actually using technology built on RSS. Whether providing a feed for a blog, providing a feed of changes for some software you may be writing, or doing your own podcast, the applications for content syndication are almost endless, and its usage is growing at a phenomenal rate every day.